Aragorn
The son of Arathorn II and his wife Gilraen, Aragorn was born on 1 March, T.A. 2931.Through his ancestor Elendil (whom he closely resembled) Aragorn was a descendant of the first king of Númenor, Elros Tar-Minyatur; the twin brother of Elrond. When Aragorn was two years old, his father was killed while pursuing orcs. Aragorn was afterwards fostered in Rivendell by Elrond. At the bidding of Elrond, his lineage was kept secret, as Elrond feared he would be killed like his father and grandfather if his true identity as Isildur's heir became known. Aragorn was renamed Estel ("hope" in Sindarin) to hide his existence from Sauron and his servants. He was not told about his heritage until he came of age in 2951. Elrond revealed to Aragorn his true name and ancestry, and delivered to him the shards of Elendil's sword Narsil, and also the Ring of Barahir. He withheld the Sceptre of Annúminas from him until he earned the right to possess it. Aragorn met and fell in love with Arwen, Elrond's daughter (whom he mistook for Tinúviel), when she returned fromLórien, her mother's homeland. Aragorn thereafter assumed his role as the sixteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, the Rangers of the North, and went into the wild, living with the remnants of his people, whose kingdom had been destroyed through civil and regional wars centuries before. Aragorn met Gandalf the Grey in 2956, and they became close friends.1 The Rangers help to guard the Shire, inhabited by the diminutive, agrarian Hobbits. In the areas around the Shire and Bree he became known as "Strider". From 2957 to 2980, Aragorn undertook great journeys, serving in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan (King Théoden's father) and of Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor (father of Denethor). His tasks helped to raise morale in the West and to counter the growing threat of Sauron and his allies, and he acquired experience that he would later put to use in the War of the Ring. Aragorn served his lords during that time under the name Thorongil (Eagle of the Star). With a small squadron of ships from Gondor, he led an assault onUmbar in 2980, burning many of the Corsairs' ships and personally slaying their lord during the Battle of the Havens. After the victory at Umbar, "Thorongil" left the field, to the dismay of his men, and went East. Aragorn also travelled through the Dwarves' mines of Moria and to Rhûn and Harad, where (in his own words) "the stars are strange". In 2980, he visited Lórien, and there again met Arwen. He gave her an heirloom of his House, the Ring of Barahir, and, on the hill of Cerin Amroth, Arwen pledged her hand to him in marriage, renouncing her Elvish lineage and accepting mortality, the "Gift of Men". Elrond withheld from Aragorn permission to marry his daughter until such time as his foster son should be king of Gondor and Arnor reunited. To marry a mortal, Arwen would be required to choose mortality and thus eventually separate the immortal Elrond from his daughter; and Elrond feared that in the end Arwen might find the prospect of death too difficult to bear. Gandalf grew suspicious of the ring belonging to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, which was later discovered to be Sauron's One Ring. Gandalf asked Aragorn to track Gollum, who had previously possessed the Ring. This hunt led Aragorn across Rhovanion, and he finally captured Gollum in the Dead Marshes northwest of Mordor and brought him captive to King Thranduil’s halls in Mirkwood, where Gandalf questioned him.